C rossfir E
by T a C o C a T
Summary: Sakura was certain that her mysterious, attractive next-door neighbor was a serial killer, insane, or the toothfairy. Little did she know, Sasuke's story was much more complex and dramatic, and she was about to get thrown into the middle of it. SASUSAKU
1. My NOT SO Lucky Day!

**C** a u g h t **I** n **T** h e

**c**_r_o**s**_s_f**i**_r_e

In her personal opinion, there was something severely fishy about her mysterious next-door-neighbor. She had gathered several theories about him – and was quite certain that he was either a serial killer, insane, or the tooth fairy.

Ino, on the other hand, found him to be the most delicious thing since cheesecake. It was true that from what Sakura had seen, he was an undeniably attractive person – with a face that seemed more befitting inside of a painting next to the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, bottomless storm clouds for eyes, and a body that would surely be blinding if it wasn't hidden under modest clothing and behind, most of the time, a door. And if she had not more common sense, Sakura might have loomed outside in the hallway with Ino, hoping to steal a glimpse of him venturing out of his apartment and hoping to strike up a conversation.

His bizarre behavior, however, did an effective job of repelling her. Although he had been residing in the same apartment since before she had moved in next to him, she seldom saw him leave, and when she did, never heard him speak, even when she attempted a neighborly greeting. There was only one person who she frequently witnessed come and go in and out of his apartment, a loud but friendly blond whose name she thought started with an "N," who was always ushered into the apartment by her neighbor before Sakura had the chance to hold a conversation with him. His groceries were delivered, he never ordered in, and as far as she knew, he was neither employed or in school – which brought up the question of how he paid his rent, another mystery that Sakura secretly wished to unfold.

Little did she know, the story surrounding Uchiha Sasuke was more complex and dramatic than she ever could have imagined, and she was just about to get thrown into the middle of it.

**C** h a p t e r (**o1**)

One of few, Sakura was a morning person. Before her roommates had roused from their beds, she was already up and capable of performing daily tasks such as making breakfast without doing ditsy things like forgetting to remove the egg from the shell before adding it to the pancake batter, something that Ino had done on several occasions. Hinata was not quite so brainless in the early hours of the day to do such a thing, but she was still far from functioning at her best after she awoke, unlike Sakura , who found herself to be liveliest and the beginning of the day. Ino claimed such feats were alien. Hinata was envious.

After throwing the omelet into the skillet and double checking whether or not she was presentable, the next thing on Sakura's morning routine was to wake up Ino, as her alarm clock had, as always, failed to do so. Summoning the blond from her deep sleep back into the land of the living was not an easy task, save for those who knew the trick to doing it. Sakura tip-toed into the room Ino slept in, which was darkened by black-out blinds, crept next to her roommate's bed, and leaned over the lump hidden under her comforter. She wet her finger in her mouth, and promptly stuck it in Ino's ear. "Alien worm babies are crawling into your brain..." She whispered, giving her finger a good wiggle.

There was an ear-shattering scream as Ino lunged into the upright position, swatting at the imaginary alien worm babies that were allegedly burrowing through her skull. Sakura chuckled, causing Ino's eyes to shoot towards her and narrow into a glare. "Can't you wake me up any other way...?" She snarled, wiping furiously at the sleep crusted into her eyelashes. In the bedroom over, Sakura could hear Hinata rustling, which meant that as planned, Ino's scream had been an effective wake-up call.

"No." Sakura replied. "I'm afraid I don't have the necessary firepower to do so." And then, realizing that her pancake was probably done, and that pillow that Ino was picking up was probably about to be tossed at her head, Sakura made her leave, feeling the pillow breeze by her ear and impact the wall beside her head as she scurried out of the bedroom. She crossed Hinata on her way to the bathroom, carrying a towel and lavender shampoo, and gave her a hearty greeting. Hinata, still looking disheveled and half-asleep, muttered and groggy "Good Morning" in reply.

She reached the kitchen just in time to flip over the omelet, satisfied to find it cooked to perfection on the one side. Next she busted the concentrated orange juice out of the freezer and left it to thaw on the counter before attempting to squeeze it into the juice jug. It was tradition in the apartment for Sakura to make breakfast for the three of them, and she prepared anything from french toast with bacon or sausage and fruit salad to setting cereal out on the table, depending on the mood she was in and how much money they had to spare on the food budget. Today she was feeling only somewhat chef-like, so she was making omelets from powdered eggs and filling them with whatever she could find in the fridge that seemed edible.

By the time that both Hinata and Ino had run through the shower, breakfast was ready and set out on the table. Ino was the last to seat herself, plopping into her designated chair at the table and pulling her plate towards her, shoving a bite into her mouth and chewing loudly. "You guysh used u' the las of thuh hod wodder." She said with her mouth full, swallowing after she had finished talking and washing it down with a gulp of orange juice. "Again."

Hinata bowed her head close to her plate and muttered a barely audible apology. "Maybe if you got up a little earlier, you might be able to get through the shower before us and that wouldn't be a problem." Sakura said as she cleaned the last bit of fluffy egg off her plate and drank the last drop of juice out of her cup, picking up her dishes and utensils and giving them a quick rinse in the sink before setting them in the dishwasher.

"No, it wouldn't be a problem if you didn't take such long showers, Sakura." Ino responded in a very matter-of-fact way, reaching across the table and snatching the salt and pepper away from Hinata after she had finished using them and sprinkling a good layer on top of her breakfast. "What do you do in there? Shave your head bald and then grow your hair back?"

"Actually, no. I'm too busy pulling your hair globs out of the drain to do that. Early bird gets the worm, Ino. I have plenty of time to take long, enjoyable showers in the morning. Why shouldn't I?" After she had finished clearing her own dishes, she moved on to removing those the others were finished with. She swept Hinata's empty plate out from under her and balanced the empty juice glass on top of it, turning next to Ino, who allowed Sakura to take her dirty dishes with a smug smile on her face. Sakura half expected a comment about maid service, and was preparing a witty comeback. Unfortunately, she and Ino weren't thinking quite in sync that morning.

"You don't have quite as much time as you think you do, though." Ino finally stated, her face breaking into a wicked grin. It was the type of smile she wore when she had done something that Sakura could excusably kill her for. "What time is it?"

Sakura looked at her watch, and then, catching on, at the clock on the wall. Her face paled several shades. "Ino..." Sakura growled, her expression turning deadly as her head turned stiffly to face the woman who was leaning on the back two legs of her chair, cackling mirthfully. Sakura's murderous disposition only lasted temporarily, until the panic settled in, and then she grew hopelessly frantic. "Do you have any idea what you've done! I'm going to be late! I can't be late! Do you know what happens if I'm late?"

"Relax, Sakura." Ino replied, her chair returning to all fours with a loud clatter. "You're not going to be late. I only set it back ten minutes."

"Ten minutes is the difference between pass or fail!" Sakura shrieked in hysterics. She was already going about, trying to locate all of her necessities for the day in a flurry. She found her purse strung over the back of her chair and her book bag on the sofa where she had left it the previous night after her study session. "I don't have time for this!" She had one arm in one sleeve of her sweater, and was attempting to pull the other one through while simultaneously trying to slip on her shoes. There was a good deal of awkward twisting and jumping involved. "I'll slaughter you later!" She yelled as she rushed out the door and slammed it behind her.

Sakura usually gave herself a good twenty minutes of time to walk to the bus stop, and usually arrived a minute or two early. And seeing as she had been planning to leave just as soon as she finished cleaning up breakfast, she was running seriously late. The next bus wouldn't leave for an additional half an hour, and if she missed the first bus, she would be late for her class. The doors closed at the precise moment that it began, and missing a single class of the course was something that very few risked. It was education suicide.

Sakura had worked very hard to get into one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country, and was fortunate enough to be taught under the woman that she idolized. Tsunade was hailed as the owner of the most innovative medical mind in Japan, and although the course she taught was very difficult, with a pass rate of only fifteen percent, Sakura had never once wished for someone else as her professor. She had spent a great many years dreaming of even so much as shaking hands with Tsunade, and to study under her was a fantasy come true.

She tore into the elevator and tapped her feet impatiently as she waited for it to reach the bottom floor. As soon as the floor beneath her feet swayed into place, she was at the door and ready to pounce as soon as it cracked open. She sprinted across the lobby, out the front doors, and down the steps that led to the pavement. Being a crowded street in Tokyo, she had to maneuver he way through the people as she weaved in an out of the sea of bodies that were crammed onto the sidewalk and spilling out onto the road. She pushed her way through, apologizing to every person she brushed past. "I'm sorry. Excuse me. Sorry."

She ran across the street and dodged oncoming traffic, met by a chorus of honks and yells of people who stuck their heads out of their car windows. She apologized some more as she crawled over a taxi that had screeched to a stop in front of her, launching herself off the hood and darting into the entrance of the station. She rummaged through her purse for her bus pass, and quickly hurtled over the gate, finding as she approached her bus that the doors were already closing. She took the opportunity to tap into the skills she had build up during track and field club in high school, and managed to squeeze herself through before they sealed shut.

She was pressed in between two people who glanced at her irritatedly and shuffled the other direction. She attempted to step around them, nearly losing her balance in the process and brushing roughly through them. One scowled. "Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry." She grabbed onto one of the handles that dangled from the roof of the aisle, let out a relieved sigh, and waited for her bus to reach its stop.

She came to realize that she hadn't much luck today, however, when the bus reached its stop and she realized that it wasn't her bus. She came off at a stop ten blocks away from her own, and there was a mere thirty minutes remaining until the doors were locked and her career was doomed. She let out a loud groan before readjusting her book bag and purse and starting off again. She was sweaty, out of breath, and tired – but she sprinted into the university just in the nick of time, passing through the still open doors to her classroom to meet Tsunade up on her way to lock them.

"Ms. Haruno." She greeted stiffly. "Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"

"It's been an interesting morning, professor." She replied politely, shifting her sweater back over her shoulder. Her breathing had almost returned to normal, and she straightened herself up and forced a smile. She was frightened to see the condition that her hair was in. She was fairly certain there were some twigs stuck in it due to the shortcut she had taken through the park.

"I can see that." She said, looking Sakura up and down before dismissing her with a wave of her hand. "Well then, take your seat. Good heavens, child. You look like you've just run a marathon."

She eagerly did as told, bending down into her desk and splaying across it, letting out a deep, exhausted exhale. She made a mental note to kill Ino in the slowest, most painful way possible later on that day.

The lesson flew by, and Sakura enjoyed it thoroughly, filling page after page with neatly organized notes. The bell rang, and a silent, grateful moan issued from the students who stood up from their desks and began to file out of the classroom. Sakura was taking her time, placing her books back in their appropriate places in her bag and going over the important parts of the lesson again in her head, drilling vital facts into her memory. The professor caught her off guard, beckoning her forwards with a finger. "Could you stay and speak with me for a moment please, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded, apprehensive, and hesitantly approached Tsunade's desk at the front of the classroom. Tsunade's desk looked somewhat like Sakura's room – messy. There were few patches of viewable cherry wood beneath stacks of paper and coffee mugs filled with pens and liquid that didn't smell a thing like coffee. The only things that Sakura bothered keeping orderly were those that were related to her school work, which she took very seriously. She was a slob through and through, and found it quite flattering that she obviously shared this trait with her teacher. Tsunade, after removing a thick binder from her seat, sat down and faced Sakura with her chin rested against her hands. "You were a tad bit tardy this morning, Sakura." She commented. Sakura couldn't identify the tone of her voice – whether it was disappointment or amusement. She nodded. "You are aware what would have happened should you have been, say, thirty seconds later?" She nodded again and her throat tightened.

"You're a very bright girl, Sakura." Her professor said. Sakura could feel her chest swell with pride. "You have a great deal of potential. I'd hate to see you waste it. I expect great things from you, girl."

Now she was fairly certain that she was dreaming. Not only was it odd that her day had taken such an unfortunate turn of events, but now her role model was giving her possibly the largest and most significant comment that she had received in her life. She felt a little dizzy with elation. Her face broke into a shaky smile. "T-thank you, professor. I hope I come to meet your expectations."

Tsunade smirked behind her hands. "Well, get going. I'm probably keeping you from something. Shoo, shoo."

Sakura did not need to be told twice.

(o)

"Do you know what she said? She said I had potential. _The _Tsunade said that _I_ had potential. She said she expected great things from me. Not just things, _great _things." The young pink-haired woman sighed dreamily, looking at the bartender, her friend, from across the counter. Tenten shoved the dishrag inside of a dirty beer mug and sloshed it around, nodding and pretending to be interested. "I can now die in peace."

"You sound like you're in love with her." Tenten said, setting the mug in her hand upside down on a stack of others and reaching for the next dirty one within reach. Tenten made for a good bartender. She was friendly, dealt well with drunks, and new a few neat mixing tricks. Sakura enjoyed having someone to talk with at work.

"So maybe I am in love." Sakura joked sarcastically, cupping her hands together and pressing them dramatically to her chest, feigning a swoon. "Alright! I admit it! I am in love with... medical practice!"

Tenten rolled her eyes at the scene that Sakura mockingly acted out in front of her, only paying mind to her occasionally, while her primary focus was on the table corner. "Uh-oh." She stated, setting down the glass she was working on and waving at Sakura to grab her attention. "Looks like trouble at table two." Tenten had thought up inventive slogans for all the tables. (Omen at table one, threat at table three, forecast at table four...) "Better get to it."

Sakura, unlike her coworker, was not a bartender. She was a bouncer.

When she had applied for the job, the manager gave her the type of look that accused her of insanity, scoffed, and asked in the most polite way he was capable of if she was joking. After assuring him that she was not, which required a great deal of time and effort, he agreed to hire her, assuming that a day or two on the job would bring her to her senses and send her elsewhere to look for employment. Her first night at work, she proved her competence and suitability for the job. She forcefully removed four angry, drunken men from the bar. All at once. With the use of only two fingers.

Seeing as large men had only ever taken on the job, the uniform practically drowned her under its heavy folds of cloth. She used numerous belts and clips to hold the uniform securely to her body, but even after she had cuffed the pant legs four times over they dragged on the floor and the collar slipped over her shoulders. The overall effect of which was far from intimidating, so when she approached the man hovering around table two, seemingly attempting to pick up one of the three girls seated there, and flashed him her name tag, he only laughed.

"Don't do it, man! She'll kill you! She's the Iron Fist of Death! She'll disfigure you with her eyes! She'll disembowel you _with her mind_!" One of the regulars shouted from the next table over. Sakura ignored the nickname, though she was secretly pleased they had taken to calling her that. She was also secretly pleased that they thought she could disembowel people with her mind. She halted a few feet from him and he staggered, hiccuping and brandishing his half-empty mug of beer dangerously. Foam sloshed over the edges. He winked at her.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She said calmly, but assertively. His acquaintances pleaded with him to listen to her, but he either couldn't hear them, or was too drunk to care. He smirked unnervingly.

"And I'm afraid that I'm not leaving unless you're coming with me, beautiful." He replied, his speech slurred. Her lip twitched.

"Sir, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

"Oh, I'll do it hard, alright. I'll do it hard all night. Come with me, sweet cheeks. I'll show you a real good time." From the corner of her eye, Sakura could see Tenten shake her head and reach below the counter to pull out the wet wipes she would use to clean up the blood. She knew the capacity of Sakura's temper too well. The group of women whom he had been trying to hit on before looked somewhat relieved, and watched nervously as he teetered towards them. They scooted out of the path he would take should he tip over.

"Let me rephrase this. You can leave with your balls still intact, or you can leave with them shoved up your nostrils." She seethed, taking a threatening step in his direction. She did not succeed in making him uncomfortable with her proximity, quite the opposite. He took a step forwards to match hers until he was too close for _her _likes, and reached around her and grabbed her backside.

"I'll tell you where I want you to shove my--"

He was sporting a black eye, a fat lip, and a broken nose as she tossed him out the door, his body twisted up like a pretzel. She slammed the door and left him to untangle himself, if possible. She heaved a sigh and turned to face the many heads turned her way, staring at her with mortified expressions. "ALRIGHT! WHOSE NEXT??" She bellowed. The bar seemed slightly less crowded for the remainder of the night.

It wasn't the best of jobs. Sakura couldn't stand the stench of alcohol or the temperament of drunks. But if efficiently helped pay rent and tuition without requiring long hours of work or sleepless nights, and so she was thankful that she had landed it. The bar was close to her apartment and she could easily walk back and forth, she got a discount for her and her friends, and beating up people helped with her anger management issues. For instance, she was no longer plotting to skin Ino alive, throw her in a tub of lemon juice, and then drop a plugged-in toaster on her lap. Now she was only planning to shave off one of her eyebrows while she slept.

The few brave costumers that remained slowly trickled out as it came to closing time. Sakura lingered afterwards and waited for Tenten to finish cleanup duties. She stacked the last clean cup with a grateful sigh and set down her dishtowel, making a motion towards the door and indicating to Sakura that it was time to leave. "So how is Neji finding his classes?" Sakura asked. Neji was Hinata's cousin and Tenten's boyfriend, and although Sakura and Neji weren't very close, it made for good conversation. Tenten talked about him in a way that Sakura could only hope someone would someday talk about her. It was plain for anyone to see that the two brunettes were very much in love, and Sakura envied their relationship.

Neji was studying law in hopes of becoming a prosecutor. Sakura thought that his choice job suited him frighteningly well, for Neji was a very strict and law-abiding person who had a very commanding presence about him. At first Sakura found him a little intimidating, but after seeing him with Tenten, she found nothing intimidating about him any longer. He still wasn't her ideal for a man, however. He was too antisocial, too prickly around the edges, and rarely had much to contribute to a conversation. Sakura was more attracted to lively men. She wanted _him_, if he was out there somewhere, to be able to make her laugh and cry. Of course, kindness and gentleness was a must. And he had to be willing to help out around the house.

"Difficult, but worthwhile." Tenten replied, wrapping her coat more tightly around her shoulders as the two women walked down the sidewalk. It was dark, the only sources of light coming from the street lamps above their heads and flashing neon signs that proudly displayed the names of the stores they belonged to. Cars whizzed past them.

"Hah." Sakura replied with a disdainful smile, kicking a pebble across the street with the toe of her shoe. "I can relate. Believe me, I can relate. I nearly missed my class this morning, did I tell you? Ino set my watch back ten minutes. And then I got on the wrong bus and ended up ten city blocks away from the university."

"Wow." Tenten said. "I'd hate to see what you have in store for her."

Sakura climbed up the stairs to the front doors of her apartment complex and waved goodbye to Tenten, who waved back before continuing on the additional few blocks to her home. It had been a long day and Sakura was tired, and she could think of nothing more she wanted than a hot bath and a mug of tea, maybe throwing a few angry words or pointy objects at Ino. She dragged herself through the lobby and into the elevator, and rested her head against the carpeted walls as she waited for the elevator to carry her to her destination. The doors made a musical 'ding' as they opened, and Sakura trudged down the hallway towards her apartment. She stopped in front of the door and reached inside her pocket to pull out her key --

Only to find that in her hurry that morning, she had left her key in the apartment. She reached inside her other pocket to pull out her cellphone with which to call Ino or Hinata, only to find that she had left her cellphone with her keys and she was good and locked out of her apartment. They had never bothered with making a spare key and hiding it somewhere clever, they had never thought there would be any need for one.

Sakura whimpered pathetically and slid down the door with her back against it, pulling her knees up to her chest. Knowing Ino, she had probably dragged Hinata off to some party or club and the two of them wouldn't be back until god-knows-when. Sakura cursed under her breath. It was a school night, too. She would have to wait and hope that her roommates returned at a reasonable hour. Even though she was a morning person, she didn't function well on little sleep.

Two hours came and went and there were still no signs of Ino or Hinata. Her frustration filled her with a sudden burst of insanity, and she pulled herself up to her feet and strutted boldly over to the door next to hers, behind which the suspicious, good-looking man who resided there was probably doing unmentionable things, and knocked loudly three times. She was just doing a quick in and out, she told herself. She'd just explain that she had locked herself out of her apartment, ask to use the phone, call Ino, and hightail it out of his apartment before he had the opportunity to plant an ax in her skull.

No one answered the door. He was in there, she knew that he was in there. He never left. She knocked again, waited, and knocked again. Her heart jumped into her throat as she heard shuffling movements behind the door. Footsteps. She was rethinking her plan and considering turning and running behind the corner, but it was too late. He opened the door.

Every time she laid eyes on his face, her breath caught in her throat. He was so astonishingly beautiful. It was otherworldly. Never before had she seen him up so close that it enabled her to see so many details of his design. His skin was flawless, completely unblemished, and his face clean-shaved. He was wearing a loosely form-fitting black dress-shirt, navy jeans, and had an untied red necktie strung over one shoulder. His piercing, midnight-black eyes looked straight into hers. Her heart stopped and restarted.

And then, for the first time in the two years they had been living next to each other, she heard him speak. "What?" He snapped. But that one word sent shivers down her spine like nothing had ever before. His voice was deep, rich, husky. It made her feel weak in the knees.

It took a minute or two of ogling him with her mouth hanging open to realize that the one word he had spoken that had sent her into such a daze required a response. "Oh." She said, snapping her mouth shut as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Her face turned a shade to match her hair. "I've locked myself out of my apartment. Do you mind if I use your phone to call someone?" She gulped and gave her head a slight, unnoticeable shake. No matter how attractive a man he was, she still had to keep her wits about her. He could still be a mass murderer, for all she knew.

"You do realize that it's past midnight, right?" He asked monotonously. This time she was better prepared, and although the sound of his voice caused her heart to do vigorous flip-flops in her chest, it did not have quite the effect that it had on her last time. The trick to immunizing herself to the effects of his entrancing vocal chords was to imagine him chopping of a puppy's head every word that passed his perfect lips.

"Oh, is it? I'm sorry, I must have lost track of time..." She muttered apologetically. "You don't look like you were asleep, though," she said, indicating his manner of dress, which was not quite that of someone was had been in bed moments earlier. "So no harm done, right?"

He stared at her scrutinizingly, his eyes narrowing into a suspicious sort of glare, before stepping aside and allowing her to pass into his apartment. "Fine." He grunted, turning and walking briskly back into his apartment, seating himself on the couch. Sakura instantly observed that his apartment was very expensively furnished. While purchasing furniture for her apartment, most of the things she had bought were secondhand and bargain-priced. His was modern-looking and devoid of any signs that it had been previously used. Next, she noticed its state of pristine cleanliness. Nothing seemed out of place. No dirty dishes were in plain view. No laundry strewn across the floor. "Phone's over there." He said, pointing to a phone that hung from a wall near the kitchen, the chord hanging down below it in a perfect 'U'.

"Thank you." She muttered quickly, scurrying over to it and dialing Ino's cellphone number. It rang once before her voice-mail picked up. _"Hello, you've reached Yamanaka Ino! If this is some hot guy, sorry I missed your call! Leave me a message at the beep!" _Sakura scowled and dialed Hinata's next. _"The customer you have dialed is unavailable. Please leave your message at the tone." _

She had never really considered the possibility that neither of them would have their phones turned on, and now that her last hope had been washed down drain and she was standing in a place where she had never imagined she would ever venture, she hadn't the first idea what she should do. The smartest idea would have been to thank her next-door neighbor for the use of his phone and skedaddle, but she didn't want to wait until some unknown hour for Ino and Hinata to return and unlock the door for her. "No answer." She said to her host, who was seemingly absorbed in a book that he was holding upside-down. "Do you mind if I wait a few more minutes and try again?"

"Do whatever you want." He said curtly.

She was nervous to be alone with him, she would admit. But Ino would be eternally jealous that Sakura had been inside of his house, and that was reason enough for her to be there. She sat timidly on the love seat across from him, eying him uncertainly. She could feel the beginnings of an awkward silence settling in. "So, are you in school...?" She asked, fidgeting. He closed the upside-down book and set it down on the coffee table in front of him.

"No." He said. She waited for a while to see if he would take her prompting and engage in conversation, but he said nothing else.

"Oh..." She nodded, staring blankly at his face. She hadn't seen the slightest hint of expression on it since she had knocked on his door, with maybe the exception of distrust. She tried to imagine him smiling, and found it difficult. "Well, then, do you work?" He had to come up with money somehow. Maybe he was a drug dealer.

His eyes narrowed again. "... Yes..." He replied hesitantly.

She had realized that she would need to ask a lot of questions in order to get him to talk, as he seemed to be reluctant to give away any information without cause. She continued, beginning to feel slightly like a courtroom interrogator. "I see. What do you do?" She wasn't quite sure if she was being rude, prying into his personal matters, but it was for the sake of conversation, and thus far he hadn't seemed too bothered by it.

He had been staring at the ground between his feet up until then, when his eyes snapped up to meet hers, but only briefly. They darted around shiftily. He didn't reply.

"Your job? Where do you work?" She persisted. She had always been genuinely curious, but now her desire to know intensified with her realization of the opportunity to acquire such information from him. She had never held a conversation with him before, and doubted that the chance would arise again. She would have loved to know every little detail about her secretive neighbor. She always had been investigative.

He scowled at her. "I'm unemployed."

She blinked, startled and confused, and tried to make sense of him. He could have been joking around with her, but somehow, she didn't catch the drift that he was. Every thing he said or did gave the feel that he was being deadly serious. Her neighbor was a creep. She was absolutely a hundred percent certain about that much. "B-but you just said--" She stammered.

"You're mistaken."

Yes, he was definitely possibly a drug dealer.

She decided that now was a good time to retry the phone and get a better look at his cookware, while she was at it. She decided to take a detour to the phone through the dining room and kitchen and see if she could spot any more clues that would give her an idea about the sort of person who he was, disappointed to find none. There was no mail scattered on the dining room table. No bloody knives laid out on the kitchen counter. Just as she was a few feet to reached the phone, he abruptly stood up. "STOP!" He called.

She jolted. "I-I'm only just using the phone, again, see?" She reassured. There was obviously _something _that he was keeping hidden, and even though she had always suspected so in the first place, she still found a confirmation of the fact disturbing. To prove her point she took another step forwards and reached out towards the phone, and then another step...

And he ran forwards and tackled Sakura, throwing her down to the ground and landing on top of her. She gasped loudly as the weight of his body impacted hers, and attempted against all futility to shove him off. So he was a rapist! Even though the concept of him taking off her clothes and doing unmoral things to her was somewhat appealing, it was also frightening. She sucked in a lungful of air, preparing a good scream, but he seemed to have noticed what she was trying to do and clamped a hand over her mouth, hissing "shh!" In her ear.

He hoisted himself up onto his knees and straddled her, one hand remaining over her mouth, and looked over his shoulder. And then, out of nowhere, he pulled a gun and shot it. At the wall.

The wall, or rather something, or rather _someone _hidden behind the wall, shot back. Both of the guns were silenced, and Sakura noticed finally as she had not before that his walls had been intentionally soundproofed. From a first glance, they just seemed stylish. Whoever had concealed him or herself behind the wall shot a second time, and this time only missed because Sakura's neighbor grabbed her and rolled out of the way. This time round she wound up on top of him, which unfortunately wasn't for the better. The unseen enemy came around her back and snatched her before neither she or her neighbor had time to react, pulling her to her feet and pressing the gun to her temple. She froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Drop the gun or else your girlfriend gets it, Uchiha."

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Sakura clarified, but she was still too frightened to struggle. A single slip of her captor's finger and no amount of medical knowledge could save her life. The gun pressed harder against her head. She tensed.

"Let her go. She has nothing to do with this." Her neighbor said. Sakura pleaded silently that whoever it was holding her at gunpoint would agree. She made a mental note to ask to use her _other _neighbor's phone next time she was locked out of her apartment, if there was a next time. She was willing to bet that there would be less chance of being shot if she did so.

"I beg to differ. She seems pretty involved, to me." The gun-wielding mad-man (who was not her neighbor) replied. "Put down your weapons, or else I'll blow her brains out all over our nice, clean carpet."

A serious thought hit her. She could _die. _Without ever finishing her education, landing her dream job, falling in love. She was still so young. She still had so much that she wanted to do. She could feel her eyes well up. How humiliating. She was about to cry. She pinched her eyes shut tightly together and prayed that she was dreaming. She tried to imagine away the cold feeling of the gun against her clammy head, the pinching arms of the unfamiliar man who held her, the sickening feeling of fear that gripped her heart.

She opened her eyes when she heard the clatter of her neighbor's gun falling to the ground. He held his hands up, letting out a deep, irritated sigh. She felt her captor's slack loosen, before he released her entirely and stormed past her towards her neighbor who was still on his knees, fearless expression unwavering even as the enemy pointed his gun in between her neighbor's charcoal eyes. Now he was going to die instead. He had traded in his life to spare hers. "Too easy. And here I thought you'd pose a bit more of a challenge. They said you were smart. They said you were good. This is all you have to offer? Pathetic." The enemy was dressed in black, and his back was turned to Sakura, so she couldn't see his face. He stepped closer to Sakura's neighbor, who didn't so much as blink. "Sayonara, sweethea--"

Before he had the chance to finish, Sakura delivered the most forceful kick she could muster to the back of his head. Which involved a bit of a jump, as his head was a good deal higher off the ground than hers. He crumpled instantaneously onto the carpet, a rivulet of blood running from his hairline, unconscious. She stared down at his limp body for a few stunned moments, panting and shivering uncontrollably, before she dared to redirect her gaze to her equally stupefied neighbor. Their eyes locked briefly, sharing a common lack of understanding, before Sakura made up her mind that it was time to leave.

"T-thank you for letting me use your phone." She spluttered, stumbling backwards a few steps before whirring and speed walking towards the door. "I'll be leaving now."

Her heart plummeted into her stomach when she felt a hand grip her wrist forcefully. She went rigid.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."


	2. You wanna know what happened to my FACE?

**C** a u g h t **I** n **T** h e

**c**_r_o**s**_s_f**i**_r_e

It was obvious that people cared about her. Two days and her face was already being printed on milk cartons and displayed in the missing persons section of the local news, and her roommates spent every waking moment of their free time wandering the neighborhood, holding up photos of the pink-haired woman to every passerby and asking if they had glimpsed even the slightest bit of anything that could aid them in their quest to locate her. It was problematic.

Sasuke pressed the power button on the remote and the television screen went black. The image of her picture still lingered in his mind. She had been smiling. The caption below her read: _Haruno Sakura. Last seen walking into her apartment by coworker Tenten on Wednesday April 25__th__. _Followed by her measurements, age, and any other details the police department had felt were important to include. They were already flocking the building, searching every floor with the utmost thoroughness without, of course, violating anyone's privacy. It would only be a matter of time before --

Someone knocked on his door.

-- They came to question him.

He sighed, grabbing his handgun off the coffee table and tucking it in the waistband of his pants as he heaved himself off the couch. He fixed his shirt so that no visible part of his weapon remained, shoved his convenient pocket-sized knock-out gas spray can in his front pocket, and went to answer the door. "Officers." He greeted unemotionally. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What happened to your face?" One immediately asked. Sasuke winced.

"Fell down the stairs." He replied through gritted teeth.

"We're currently undergoing an investigation about your missing neighbor, Haruno Sakura. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" The one on the right asked, removing his sunglasses and letting them dangle loosely from his fingers. He swung them back and forth impatiently. Why he was wearing sunglasses indoors in the first place was a mystery.

"I have a missing neighbor?" Sasuke asked uninterestedly, not so much as batting an eyelash as he spoke. He held his hands at his sides, ready to reach for his gun or the gas, whichever the situation would call for, if he should need one. The officers seemed unconvinced by his act. Which was fine by him, as Sasuke was never really going for convincing them of anything in the first place. He preferred different tactics when concerning ridding himself of unwanted trouble. "This is news to me. But by all means, ask away."

"Do you mind if we come in?" The one on the left asked.

"Not at all." Sasuke lied. He turned and lead them into his apartment, seating himself once more and motioning for his unwelcome visitors to do the same. They sat across from him on the love seat, scanning what they could see of the apartment for anything conspicuous or suspicious. One had a notepad and pen in hand. The other, with the sunglasses, drummed his fingers on the armrest. They looked to each other momentarily, before returning their attentions to Sasuke.

"So you say that you were unaware that your neighbor was missing. Did you know her very well?" The one with the notepad spoke finally, pen hovering over the page at the ready.

"Not at all." Sasuke said.

He scribbled something on the page. "So you never had her over for tea? Spoke with her in the hallways?"

"Nope." He replied, letting his lips smack together over-exaggeratedly on the 'p' sound. The officer taking notes tapped his pen on the page thoughtfully, never once removing his eyes from Sasuke, while his partner seemed to be fascinated by the decor of the apartment and was still searching over every detail of every visible room. The officer's fingers stopped drumming as his eyes rested on the phone. He twirled his sunglasses around his finger.

"She never, say, locked herself out of her apartment and asked to use your phone?" The partner spoke.

"Once." Sasuke replied.

The officer didn't write anything else down in his notepad. "Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary on Wednesday night?" He asked finally.

"Not at all." Sasuke said.

She took that opportune moment to make noise. He heard the bed in his bedroom creak and a thump. His shoulders tense, but his expression gave away none of his anxiety. The officer's hands instinctively twitched towards their gun holsters. Sasuke moved his hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the spray bottle, waiting. "What was that?" The one with the sunglasses asked.

"Just the cat."

They took his word for it, and left shortly afterwards.

**C** h a p t e r ( **o2** )

It was of course no surprise to Sasuke when Naruto entered, without intentionally announcing his presence, into his apartment. It was impossible to not hear Naruto, especially when he was only standing just outside his door. "What? No. I haven't seen her. Sorry I couldn't be of any help. Good luck finding your friend!" The blond was so loud a deaf man could hear him. Besides, he hadn't been around in a while, and a visit was due to be paid.

"Sasuke-teme!" He cried affectionately upon finding the irritable dark-haired man in the kitchen, making himself a belated lunch. The blond bounced up to greet him, slapping him on the back before he got a good look at Sasuke's front. "Woah, what happened to your face?" He asked.

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead he removed his miso soup from the counter and moved into the dining room. Naruto trailed after him, repeating the question several times before he realized that he wasn't going to get an answer and leaned up against the wall, pursing his lips in annoyance. Sasuke sat at the table and ate in silence while Naruto hovered, trying to think of something to bring up a conversation about. Sasuke was tempted to tell Naruto to go home. He wasn't quite in the mood to deal with him today, as he had other problems that had to first be dealt with, namely the woman currently tied up in his bedroom, who once again made a loud thumping noise. He never did bother to see what sort of things she was up to, even though he continuously told himself it would be a good idea to do so. She was a smart girl.

Naruto straightened up, looking in the direction of Sasuke's bedroom warily. "What was that noise, just now?" He asked, looking to Sasuke, and then back down the hallway. Once again, Sasuke didn't reply. He brought the bowl up to his mouth and began to gulp down the broth. Naruto started off towards his bedroom cautiously, reaching for the revolver that Sasuke new he had hidden in the inside pocket of his orange jacket.

"Don't go in my room." He warned. Naruto ignored him and continued down the hallway, pausing by the door to Sasuke's bedroom and stealthily opening it a crack to peek in. Unable to get much of a look, he gave up on the idea and barged into the room. Sasuke set down his empty bowl. He heard muffled, angry screams, Naruto's startled yelp, and the door slamming shut after the blond's hasty retreat, who stood with his back to the door, flattened against it in shock.

"Uh, Sasuke...? That girl that went missing, you know the one..." He started.

"I told you not to go in my room." Sasuke repeated, clearing his place off of the table before returning to the kitchen to clean his dishes. Naruto never really had been the brightest light bulb in the bunch, and never had been one to listen to the advice of other people, especially, for some reason, Sasuke's. But now seeing as he was aware of Sasuke's problem at and, he might be able to offer some assistance. Although rarely, Naruto was not always useless.

"I think I just found her." The loud-mouthed boy finished with a ghastly whisper. Sasuke, after returning his home to its former perfect state of cleanliness and stacking his washed dishes in their appropriate places in the cupboards, sauntered with his hands shoved in his pockets to Naruto's side and gave him the sort of look that wordlessly told him that he was an idiot. Naruto, obviously understanding this expression, which had been used many a time on him before, scowled. "What did you do, Sasuke-teme?"

His prisoner was obviously aware that they were chatting outside the door, and was making an awful clamor. She was kicking at the walls and screaming best she could while gagged, which was surprisingly loud and shrill. Sasuke tried his best to ignore her, but still every particularly loud crash or yell he flinched. "I didn't do anything." He sighed. He stared at the door, debating whether or not to open it and check on her. He'd admit that he'd feel slightly guilty if she were to hurt herself.

"Oh, really." Naruto snorted in disbelief, a slender blond brow quirked. He shoved off the wall and bounced back a few times to satisfy his constant need for fidgeting. The door rattled with his movements. The pink-haired captive fell into a few moments of precious silence, before realizing that nothing would come of the door rattling and starting up her attempt to make as much noise as humanly possibly with more enthusiasm than ever before. "I suppose she tied herself up, then."

Naruto was obviously baiting him to reveal the story, and it was working. "She's my neighbor." He said. "She locked herself out of her apartment on Wednesday and asked to use the phone. I had just gotten home and I didn't have time to secure the place before she knocked. What was I supposed to say, 'No, you can't, because you might get shot at by some uninvited guest I haven't been able to check the house for yet?'" Naruto shrugged his shoulders and made a gesture with his hands, urging Sasuke to continue. "Anyway, I forgot to disable one of the traps and she nearly set it off, so I pushed her out of the way. And naturally, because the word hates me, turns out there _was _one of them hiding out and waiting for me. I dealt with him, but," He intentionally left out the part where she saved his life, "We fired off our guns a couple times, and I couldn't just let her leave after that. She'd go to the police."

Sasuke breathed out deeply. He didn't like speaking that much, it was a serious waste of breath. But unfortunately, the look on Naruto's face made it evident that his explanation left something or other unanswered. Sasuke could feel it coming, even before the overly-inquisitive boy had asked. "... So what happened to your face? That wasn't done by Mr. Bad-guy-lurks-in-the-shadows, was it?"

"Of course not!" Sasuke scoffed, offended. The mere suggestion that such a pathetic excuse for a hit man could lay a finger on him was a swipe at his pride. "The guy was a joke. I'm amazed that he got the right apartment." He conveniently forgot to mention that the dubbed Mr. Bad-guy-lurks-in-the-shadows had nearly killed him, and would have, if it had not been for the unexpected air of his neighbor, who delivered a frighteningly effective kick to the back of his head.

"Then what--?"

Sasuke had neglected to realize in time that the truth was even more embarrassing than Naruto's original assumption. He reddened in the face and made an annoyed clicking noise with his tongue. "She put up a bit of a fight when I attempted to.. restrain her." He muttered. It took a while for the meaning of his words to sink through Naruto's thick skull, but when it did, he threw his head back and lost himself to uncontrollable fits of laughter. "It's not funny!" Sasuke hissed.

"You--" He gasped in between bursts of chuckles. "Beat up by a – girl!" Naruto clutched the sides of his stomach, doubled over, thudding his fist against the wall. "It is too funny!"

"She's not any normal girl! She's obviously had extensive martial arts training! And she's not stupid, either--" He froze mid sentence. It had been too silent behind the door for too long. Something was amiss. Ignoring the sudden confused look that crossed his comrade's face, he grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open wide, reaching for the weapon still concealed in the waistband of his jeans.

Haruno Sakura was positioned awkwardly over one of the knifes that he kept stashed at all times under a tatami mat, trying to slice through the chord that bound her wrists, and succeeding. She tried all the more vigorously to free herself upon Sasuke's arrival, and with a few more desperate rubs against the blade of the knife, the chords snapped. With her hands free she moved next to remove the ties around her ankles, but Sasuke was already at her side and grabbing at her wrists to prevent her from further untying herself, managing to pin them above her head using one hand while using his other to feel around the floor for more rope, finding that as always, it was just barely out of his reach. As they struggled Naruto watched interestedly from the sidelines, egging them on and showing favor to neither side.

"Shut up and help me!" Sasuke snapped at him, his words stifled by Sakura's socked foot against his jaw which kicked and pushed frantically in an effort to put distance between them. Naruto was still chuckling lightly under his breath as he offered limited contribution to the fray, nudging the heap of tangled and cut chord within grabbing range of Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him. He mentally took back his previous statement that Naruto wasn't always useless. He had just been proved wrong. "Why don't I just tie her up with silly string instead?" He snapped sarcastically. "Handcuffs, bottom drawer-- OW!"

Her heel smashed against the bridge of his nose. What of it was broken? If it was broken then it would set crooked and his symmetry would be off. His face would never be the same. "If you broke my nose, I'll kill you." He hissed, directing his murderous gaze away from Naruto and to her, meeting a glower of her own, somewhat put-off to find that she didn't seem the least bit frightened by his threat. He had been quite sincere.

It wasn't that Sasuke was vain, no, he wasn't vain. He was just... orderly. Yes. He liked things like order and symmetry, and if she had done anything to corrupt his symmetry, then he already had a torturous method of death in store for her. "She did not break your nose." Naruto snorted, handcuffs dangling from his index finger. "Fear not, 'teme. Your beautiful face has not been ruined for forever." Death-glare shot back to Naruto, who squatted down and bent over her face, his nose inches from hers, and smiled. "He did the same thing when I flicked an elastic band at it in sixth grade."

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled, his face reddening noticeably. "This is not the best time to be telling her stories from our distant past, in case you hadn't noticed!" He successfully managed to pin both of her wrists above her head with one hand, but it was not without strenuous effort. While he had the advantage, he heaved her up onto the bed, snatching the handcuffs from Naruto with his free hand. He straddled her, using his weight to keep her writhing at bay.

A light flashed. Sasuke looked up to find Naruto holding his phone, snapping another picture. "Kinky." The blond said, pointing to the handcuffs still in Sasuke's hand as he tried to force them on her. Sasuke's face flushed furiously. "Aw, you're blushing!" Naruto laughed.

"Shut up! I am not! I hate you! I'll kill you!" The whiskered boy only laughed harder at Sasuke's spluttering as he looped the handcuffs around one of the bedposts and slapped them around the woman's wrists. After his mission was complete, he scrambled off of her as quickly as was humanly possible, somersaulting backwards over the edge of the bed and landing roughly on the floor in the process. He jumped to his feet and stormed over to Naruto, who was snickering guiltily and cringed as Sasuke neared. He snatched the phone from him, and watched as the _sending _icon on the screen changed to _sent. _He blanched. "... Who did you send that to??"

"Just... everybody on my contact list."

After the two had maimed each other to their satisfactions, they broke apart, gasping for air, Sasuke brooding bitterly as Naruto laughed. The darker-haired of the two rose and began towards the bathroom mirror for a damage check. Naruto hadn't done much but worsen prior injuries. His nose was quite possibly broken now, which would mean he would have two corpses to dispose of at the end of the day. In the reflection of the mirror he saw Naruto get up and wander over to the pink-haired girl who was lying surprisingly still on his bed and reach for the tie Sasuke had used as a makeshift gag. "She's gagged for a reason." Sasuke called, already aware that as usual, his warning would be ignored.

"I'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS MOUNTED ABOVE MY MANTEL! YOU'RE BOTH DEAD MEAT! ESPECIALLY YOU, PRETTY BOY!" Naruto gestured at himself questioningly. "NO, NOT YOU, IDIOT! THE ONE IN THE BATHROOM! YOU'LL HAVE A LOT MORE THAN A BROKEN NOSE WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH YOU! I'LL TURN YOU INSIDE OUT AND DROP YOU IN A TUB OF ACID!"

Sasuke stuck his fingers in his ears. It did little to block out the noise. "TWO DAYS OF CLASSES! _TWO DAYS_! I'M GOING TO FLUNK THE COURSE, THANKS TO YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD I WORKED FOR THIS SCHOLARISHIP? HOURS... STUDYING... CRAMSCHOOL! I DIDN'T GET A SINGLE DATE ALL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY MEMORIZING THE NAME OF EVERY BONE IN THE HUMAN BODY! MY FUTURE HAS JUST GONE DOWN THE DRAIN! ALL OF MY POTENTIAL! SHE SAID I HAD POTENTIAL! _SHE _SAID _I _HAD POTENTIAL! I PROMISED HER I WOULDN'T LET HER DOWN! GONE! GONE! YEARS AND YEARS OF NOTHING BUT... AND... CRAMSCHOOL!"

Naruto quickly and cautiously re-gagged her, keeping careful watch over his fingers, as if he were afraid she might bite one of them off. It actually was a reasonable assumption. Sasuke finished mopping the last of the blood from under his nose, straightened his attire, and walked back into the bedroom. Naruto, looking positively terrified, had put considerable distance between himself and the still thrashing, furious girl, who pointed at Sasuke with one handcuffed hand in threat. He ignored her.

"I see now why she was gagged." Naruto said, turning stiffly to face Sasuke. "Good call. Now, what are we going to do with her?"

"Well, I already took the guy who attacked me the other night in for questioning. According to what they've gotten out of him so far, he knows nothing. He didn't even meet the guy who hired him. Just a mediocre hit-man." Sasuke said, sighing deeply and slouching against the wall. Naruto shrugged. "But she's a bit different because she's, well, you know."

"Innocent?" Naruto finished. Sasuke nodded grimly.

"She knows too much, can't let her go. Can't keep her here, for obvious reasons. But if I take her in..." His sentence faded into a groan, and he massaged his forehead in irritation. Sweat prickled at his hairline from just the thought of it. There was one major rule to his lifestyle – one that wasn't broken by those who knew of its consequences: don't involve civilians.

"Heads will roll?" Naruto finished. "Well, head, singular. You're head, to be precise." The two had neglected to remember the fact that they were not alone in the room, and as Naruto rambled on, Sasuke's attention was brought abruptly back to the third person in the room when she shifted into a more comfortable position on his bed. She looked on them with mild interest, suspicion, the hatred that had not left her eyes since she missed her first class a day earlier, and fear. She seemed to be aware that she had gotten in way over her head the first night when she ignored the distinct 'STAY AWAY' sign plastered on his forehead. "Why can't we just do it the old school way? You know, dip her feet in cement and take her out for a drive to the ocean?"

"I'm tempted." Sasuke grunted under his breath, but apparently not so under his breath so that she couldn't hear him. She started up again, screaming, kicking, thrashing, and this time with more determination than ever before. Naruto chuckled. Sasuke gritted his teeth. She was giving him a headache. And as per usual, Naruto did little to remedy the situation. "Let's take her downtown. You grab her feet, I've got her arms."

"You're gonna get in trouble." Naruto sang, the corners of his lips turning up into a wry smile. "This is something I gotta see."

Despite all of her struggling, with their efforts combined they managed to haul her half across the apartment without much difficulty. Of course, they couldn't just waltz out the front door carrying her into the onslaught of police officers that were there for the sole purpose of locating her. They would have to take a less conspicuous approach to transporting her to his car. "Clear?" Sasuke asked as Naruto peered out his back window and down the alley where Sasuke's car was parked and waiting.

"Clear." Naruto replied.

Repelling down the side of the building was something that he was accustomed to, as it was his usual means of exiting his apartment, (Going through the front door, he might as well post up an enormous flashy sign that pointed to his location for all of his enemies to see,) but he had never done it with another person in tow. After Naruto had safely reached the bottom, Sasuke double checked to make sure grapple was securely in place. "Hold on tight, unless you'd rather die." Sasuke instructed. The pink-haired woman nodded.

The tricky part was making sure that he avoided passing by all the other windows. It took him a while to get the hang of maneuvering the extra weight, but once he did, it was a smooth ride down to the bottom, where he passed her off to a waiting Naruto and detached his equipment without a moments delay. They pushed her impatiently in the direction of his car. Sasuke popped the trunk.

"You're kidding." Naruto looked at the open trunk, and then at the girl. She was wearing a similar expression to him. "Right?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Why don't I just let her have shot-gun?" Sasuke bit sarcastically. "I don't kid." Without so much as a warning, he swooped down and picked her up bridal-style, cramming her in the trunk of his car. She let out a muffled yelp of protest. "Watch your head." He said before slamming the trunk shut.

Naruto let out a low whistle. "Harsh."

"Just get in the car." Sasuke replied.

Every block they passed that got them nearer to their destination, Sasuke grew more... irritated. He wasn't anxious, no, or nervous. Both of those required _fear_, and Sasuke, being and Uchiha, was incapable of feeling such a thing. Even if what waited him at the end of his drive was... Well, never mind.

Naruto was being abnormally quiet, something that hadn't missed Sasuke's keen attention. Naruto was never quiet. Ever. Something was obviously amiss. As if reading Sasuke's mind, the blond shuffled uncertainly before turning his eyes towards him. "So, on my way into your apartment..." He began. "One of your neighbors, Sakura's roommate? She stopped me and asked if I had seen her... And, well, she was really nice. And I think she liked me!"

It wasn't difficult to see where this was going. "No." Sasuke deadpanned, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Absolutely not. You can not ask her out, because she's indirectly involved. You should know better than to even think about it." He pulled up an image of his other two neighbors into his head. One was blond, loud, and annoying. (A perfect match?) The other was shy and quiet. Sasuke couldn't imagine Naruto taking much interest in her.

"The blond or the dark-haired one?" Sasuke asked. Not out of curiosity, of course, because Sasuke could care less about Naruto's taste in women. Just for reference, so he could avoid any unnecessary meeting between them.

Naruto was more than happy to offer a reply, and straightened up eagerly, blue eyes glistening. "The dark-haired one!" Sasuke pursed his lips, surprised by his answer. They were complete opposites. But maybe what Naruto needed was someone more mellow than him to balance out his eccentricity. "The other one is too scary. She was all but sticking hot pokers in people's eyes when she asked them about the girl." He shuddered.

Naruto continued to tell Sasuke about all the wonderful traits of his timid, dark-haired neighbor, in detail, and Sasuke tuned him out. As he turned into an alley, a short cut that would take four blocks off the trip (even though he wasn't so sure he wanted to get there sooner,) something in the rear view mirror caught his eye. He adjusted it, focusing it on the trunk. The door bobbed up and down. A head covered in pink hair popped out of it. Startled, he slammed on the brakes, and she was nearly sent flying out into the alley.

He mentally scolded himself for forgetting that a great deal of newer car models had handles that opened the trunk from the inside, for just such circumstances. "What? What is it?" Naruto asked as Sasuke undid his seatbelt and darted out the driver's side door. Naruto copied him, going out his door and trailing after Sasuke, repeating the question numerous times until he saw the answer for himself.

"Sit in the back with her, will you, before she tries to jump out again and kills herself." Sasuke said, shoving Sakura at Naruto, who caught her. She hissed like an angry cat, glaring daggers at Sasuke, who ignored her and returned to his seat. Naruto helped her into the back, did up her seatbelt for her before he did up his, and angled himself so that he was more or less facing her.

"Sorry about the trunk, you know." He offered apologetically, scratching nervously at his cheek. "Just for the record, I was totally against it!"

Another few blocks of Naruto attempting to make small talk to a person who was incapable at the time of responding, thanks to Sasuke's tie which acted as a gag, and they arrived. They were in an alley, deserted saved for a few dumpsters and stray cats. "We're here." Sasuke said, getting out of the car and going around to the side to drag his neighbor out. The binds around her ankles had been removed before they had left the apartment, because it was so much easier to pull her around if she didn't have to hop. He still had to keep a close eye on her. He couldn't let his guard down. He had seen what one of her carefully aimed kicks could do to someone.

It was easy to see by the way that she walked and carried herself that she was trying to plan her escape, a possibility that became more hopeless by the minute. He opened a door which led immediately down a flight of stairs, and he motioned Naruto forwards, nudging her along after after him. Sasuke followed last, so he could keep her in his sight for if and when she decided to try anything. She was waiting for an opportunity, one that he wouldn't soon present.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a dimly lit hallway, and Naruto paused outside the first door on the left. "Stay out here with her." Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded obligingly. Taking in a deep breath, Sasuke knocked on the door.

"Come in." A voice said. He opened the door and stepped in, closing it after him as soon as he was fully in the room. It was closer to an office than anything else, with a large mahogany desk centered in the back, filing cabinets, and messy piles of papers. The only thing that would suggest otherwise was the wall with an assortment of weapons hanging on it. The woman behind the desk, who was blond, busty, and looked half her actual age, looked up as he approached. "Ah, Sasuke--" She started before she got a good look at him. She squinted. "What happened to your face?"

His jaw clenched. Naruto could be heard laughing outside the door.

(o)

She was scared. No, she was terrified. She was desperate. But first and fore mostly, she was _pissed off. _

She had spent the past two days planning escape and mourning over her hours lost in class. Not that it was going to much matter whether she passed of failed any longer, as she was fairly certain that she was going to be murdered in the near future. She wondered if they would find her body, or if she would forever remain missing, Ino and Hinata searching for her in vain... Her throat tightened.

After being dragged across Tokyo, half of the time in a dark, cramped trunk, her neighbor and his kind (kind for a psychopath, that is,) friend lead her into some dodgy place, where she was made to wait outside with the blond (who she discovered was named Naruto) while her neighbor (who she discovered was called Sasuke) went elsewhere. And suddenly, before she had a chance to react, somebody pulled a bag over her head and she was being pushed and prodded to some unknown location where they strapped her to a chair and began to interrogate her.

The man who asked her the questions had a rough, merciless voice. "Who sent you? Who do you work for?"

"For the hundredth time... _no one. _I swear to god, I don't know anything! I'm just his neighbor! I just wanted to use his bloody _phone_! I just wanted to make a phone call!"

For the first time she heard a second voice. It was female, but strong, commanding respect. And somehow, it was awfully familiar. "That's enough, Ibiki. She's telling the truth. I want to see her face."

The first thing she felt at regaining her sight was relief. The second was shock. "P-professor??"

Tsunade looked equally taken-aback. "... So that's why you haven't been in class."

--

Okay. So first of all, I'm hoping that my other updates wont be quite so far apart. The reason this one was is because I went on vacation and had no access to a computer. Sorry, guys.

Secondly, HOLY FRIDDLEFRACKSOHMYGOODIWOODNESS! I can't believe how many reviews I got! First chapter of a new story! Wow. Just... wow. I feel so...so special. -sniff sniff-. I could never be as happy as I am right now. You guys... I love you! I want to marry you! I want to have your babies! (Except for _you_. I don't want _YOUR_ babies!)

Now I have high expectations. Meet them? -hearthearttt-

Oh, and lastly, for those of you who mentioned one of my other stories, Y o h o, in their reviews, and for some unthinkable (YES, UNTHINKABLE! MONTHS AND MONTHS WITHOUT AN UPDATE IS NO EXCUSE) think that the story has been discontinued, WRONG YOU ARE! In fact, the next chapter is currently being written.

So... Um... review? I like reviews. Reviews make me happy. Very happy. You guys made me very happy. (Except for _you! _Yah, you! You know who I'm talking about...)


	3. I'm the BOSS, and don't forget it!

**C** a u g h t **I** n **T** h e

**c**_r_o**s**_s_f**i**_r_e

He was fairly certain he could guess why people were laughing at him behind his back. It was probably connected to the reason why Naruto felt so very proud of himself that day and occasionally fell into a fit of giggles for no apparent reason. Sasuke, however, was too distracted by his other priorities (namely discovering what was to become of his unfortunate neighbor) to wreak his revenge, and giving the blond the thorough beating that he would well deserve was an activity that he would have to enjoy at a later time.

It had not been the easiest thing to confess to Tsunade that he had made a slip-up, especially one that was so major, and especially when it damaged his otherwise pristine record. He had taken pride in the fact that he had avoided making any mistakes that jeopardized the safety or secrecy of the organization, and he had prided himself into believing that he would continue to do so in a flawless fashion so long as he continued to work with them.

Nor had it been easy to explain to her how it had happened while making it sound like it hadn't entirely been his fault. He carefully dodged around the bits where his neighbor had bruised his face (and ego) and anything else contradicting his acclaimed competence, including the lone trap that he had neglected to disable and his neighbor's contribution in incapacitating the enemy which he hadn't the time to check for.

Tsunade had not taken the news well, that was a giver, but neither did she have the eruption that Sasuke had prepared himself for. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved about said fact or not – it could be an indication that she was not as displeased as expected, or it could mean that she was so displeased that she was beyond volcanic. After he had finished giving her the long version of the story, she had simply set her fist on her desk rather forcefully and then proceeded to grunt orders into the microphone on her desk to have the girl taken to the interrogation room. Interrogation seemed a little extreme to Sasuke, but he had a somewhat personal connection to the girl and was therefor biased on the matter of her innocence, and it was standard procedure, after all.

By the time he was dismissed from her office she had already been whisked away, but Naruto remained rooted in place with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "I'm going to pretend I didn't just see that." The blond said grimly, referring more than likely to what he had witnessed when Tsunade's faithful underlings came to... borrow Sasuke's unsuspecting neighbor right out from under his unsuspecting nose. Courtesy wasn't one of their priorities when abducting suspicious persons. "So, how did it go? Judging by the fact that you are still in one piece, I assume that she let you off easy."

Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't really sure how it went. "Well then, what do we do now?" Naruto asked, looking from Sasuke to Tsunade's office. Sasuke shrugged again. He hadn't much thought about what to do after he had delivered the girl safely into Tsunade's custody. He felt somewhat relieved, however, that she was at long last out of his hair. She was no longer his responsibility, and he would therefore no longer have to deal with her insufferable behavior. No more whining about her missed classes. (Big deal. The last thing she should have been worrying about was a passing grade.) No more effort wasted in thwarting her attempts at escape. (No more injuries sustained from said thwarting.)

Good riddance to to unwanted (to call her rubbish would be a little harsh...)

**C** h a p t e r ( o**3 **)

There was something seriously off about the sight in front of her. Maybe it was the unexpected flower-pattern wall paper in the interrogation room. Maybe it was the appearance of her Medical School Professor in the flower-patterned wall-papered interrogation room. She blinked a couple times, but after each time the wallpaper remained – and so did Tsunade, who looked just as surprised to see Sakura as Sakura looked to see her.

There was another person standing in the room, a man with horrible scars marring him from the tip of his bald head to what Sakura could see of his neck. She assumed that he had been the one to interrogate her incessantly, the one who was determined to believe that she was involved in one way or another in whatever sort of organization they were running deeper than her accidental run-in with Sasuke's visitor earlier that week. He had accused her of being an accomplice, an independent assassin, a spy. The more questions he asked, the more she came to realize this organization (if it could be called that, she still wasn't quite sure what it was) was a dangerous one. "You know this girl, Tsunade?" He asked, unable to mask the surprise that came swiftly across his scarred face.

Tsunade nodded, massaging her temples with her forefinger and thumb, her eyes hidden behind her hand. "She's my student." She said briskly. "Let her go, untie her, she's completely harmless."

Sakura took slight offense to being called completely harmless – after all, she was The Iron Fist of Death – but made no hint of it. She wouldn't dare disagree with Tsunade, the woman whom she all but worshiped, not out loud, at least. Sakura made a mental note to prove at a later time how far from completely harmless she was to her professor. The man who she addressed acted immediately, springing behind Sakura and removing her binds. She reveled in her new-found freedom of movement and stretched her stiff limbs, hoisting herself up onto wobbly legs. She continued to stare at Tsunade, expectant and waiting for and explanation. Who was the man who had attacked her and her neighbor the other night? Who was her neighbor? Who was Tsunade? She wanted questions, and she was determined to get them.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Sakura, truly, I am." Tsunade said after a moment or two of silence, never once lifting her eyes to meet Sakura's. "But I'm afraid it doesn't end here."

After the meaning of the words sunk in, Sakura felt a pit of fear develop in her stomach, spreading throughout her chest the more she came to realize what Tsunade was implying. "You mean..." She breathed, looking from Tsunade to the man and then back again, searching either of their expressions for something to deny assumption that she was coming to. She found nothing. "You wont let me go?"

Tsunade nodded, and Sakura could feel her world crashing down around her. At last, the terror began to consume her. She could no longer care about her missed classes, there were bigger troubles settling into her mind. She would never return home. Never see Ino or Hinata again. Never live out her dream. She could easily conclude that she was going to be killed, and there was no hope of avoiding it if that was to be their sentence. Alternatively, they would keep her their prisoner until she went mad. She couldn't determine which seemed more appealing.

Some girls would burst into tears when scared to the extent that Sakura currently was, but she, instead, went into a furious frenzy. If she knew she was doomed anyway, there was no harm in trying to bluff. "You can't keep me here!" She spat, retreating quickly to the wall furthest away from them, flattening her back against it. She held an arm out defensively, to be used offensively if needed, and protectively in front of herself. She had crushed many a bone with that arm, with those dainty, destructive fingers. She wasn't all that opposed to the idea of using them against the woman she admired any longer. "I'll escape! And I'll go to the police! I'd hate to try to find another Professor as brilliant as you once your in jail."

Tsunade took a cautious step forwards, hands out in front of her. "Calm down, Sakura." She said as more of a warning than a plea, her expression unreadable. Sakura did the opposite, tensing, her hand clenching into a fist. "There's no need to be hasty." Tsunade took another step forwards, and Sakura braced herself, shuffling her feet apart into a more sturdy position. Another step forwards, and then, trying to catch her by surprise, Tsunade lunged at Sakura, reaching out to grab at her.

If Sakura had not been expecting as much, it might have worked – but instead she managed to swivel out of the way just in time, darting past Tsuande while she was still off balance and grabbing the inattentive scarred man. She had his arms pinned behind his back before Tsunade had the chance to straighten herself out. Perhaps it was not the best idea to attack the large, scary man who probably was packing a lot more in the way of lethal weapons than the men she dealt with in the bar usually did, but it was the only idea she had. "Let me go or I'll--" Sakura started. She was about to threaten that she would crush his windpipe or break his neck, but she would never kill anyone, and she knew better than to make threats she couldn't back up. She set the toe of her shoe on the back of his knee. "Break his leg!" Not the greatest leverage that she could have, but it seemed to be working.

At first, Tsunade looked startled, then, she looked apprehensive. The man struggled, and Sakura gripped him tighter, afraid of what would happen if she were to let him go. He would probably be less than thrilled at her antics. "Hold still, or I'll do a lot more than break your leg!" Sakura cried. Her voice cracked. Much to her gratification, the man went motionless.

"Tsunade..." He grunted. "She can't be serious."

It was silent, it was still, all three in the room watching, waiting. Then, Tsunade did something Sakura couldn't have anticipated in a thousand years. She threw her head back and started laughing hysterically. "Oh, but I think she is!" She gasped between fits of laughter. "I think she's about ready to tear you limb from limb if we don't give her what she wants, Ibiki!"

They were making fun of her. She scowled and applied pressure at his knee until he bent unwillingly, hissing obscenities at her under his breath. "You think this is funny?" She was becoming angry. Not any less scared, but her fury was starting to parallel it perfectly. "Should I break his fingers one by one just to show you how funny it really is?" She twisted his pinkie until just the slightest pressure would snap it. He didn't so much as wince. Judging by his scars, he had suffered a lot worse.

When Tsunade had caught her breath, she straightened up, and gave Sakura the sort of look that had always intimidated her in class. "Let him go, Sakura. We're not going to harm you."

Sakura let him go. It wasn't until after he had gracefully removed himself from arms-reach of her that she questioned her willing compliance to Tsunade's command. There was just something about the woman that Sakura couldn't refuse, something that commanded respect and obedience. No matter how hard she tried to look at it differently, Tsunade was still the woman she idolized, her professor. Her shoulders sagged in reluctant defeat, but she maintained her distance, in particular from the scarred man, who she was afraid would try to extract his revenge at any moment. "What are you going to do with me then?" She asked, trying to keep the fear in her voice hidden, and failing.

"Do you trust me?" Tsunade asked in all seriousness, her expression startlingly grave.

Sakura considered this. On the one hand, she had always felt relatively at ease when under the care of her professor. There was something that Sakura found naturally likeable about Tsunade – something aside from her admiration, something that she felt put them on light, friendly terms. But then again, Sakura had never expected her to be involved in some sketchy organization. Fear her? Most definitely. Respect her? More than anyone. Trust her? "...Yes." Sakura finally replied, in scarcely more than a whisper. As soon as the words left her mouth she felt it confirmed by an odd sensation of relief. Yes, she did trust Tsunade.

Tsunade gave her a gentle, reassuring smile, and then turned to confide in the scarred man. Sakura could not make out what they were saying, but she was fairly certain that they were discussing what was to be done with her. She straightened herself out, standing tall and proud. She had no reason to be afraid any longer, she was convinced. Even if it didn't work out in the way she was hoping – which was that they would let her go without another word, and she could return home pretending that nothing had happened. It was ideal, but unlikely.

Her life was about to change. The thought hadn't exactly sunk in – it was there, but it was floating around in the back of her mind un-predominantly. If not death or imprisonment, which no longer seemed a threat, there would be something, some aspect of her life, at least, that she was certain could no longer go back to being the same. There was no changing what she knew, and that changed everything. It was difficult a difficult concept to wrap her head around. What differences would there be? It would all depend on what decision Tsunade made, she guessed.

At last the two stopped whispering between each other, and a look of agreement passed between them. Tsunade turned to Sakura, expression unreadable. "Well, Sakura," she began, and Sakura listened attentively, gulping. "We can't very well let you wander off, now. But we're not going to do anything inhumane to you, either. First, I need you to promise me something." Sakura nodded. "I need you to promise me that you will tell no one about this. Absolutely no one. Not your friends, and not your family – not if you don't want the same thing to happen to them as is happening to you right now – and _especially_ not the police, unless you want the entire country to fall into anarchy."

With what Tsunade had just said, Sakura began to finally realize that she had gotten herself involved in something bigger than she had ever imagined. Something that the balance of the entire country rested on. Something way above her head. She paled several shades, and opened her mouth to inquire about her suspicions, but Tsunade didn't give her the chance. "Do you understand, Sakura? You must promise me. This is crucial. If I can't trust you, all chances of you walking away from here free are gone. Promise me."

"I promise!" She squeaked. "I swear on my life that I will not tell anyone anything!"

"Good enough." Tsunade breathed. "Alright, now in order for you to get what you want _from_ us, you must become an asset _to_ us. Do you understand what this means?" Sakura shook her head. Tsunade took in a deep inhale, and paused for a moment. "It means," she continued, "you're going to work for me now."

How many years had she been dreaming that one day, maybe one day, if she worked as hard as was humanly possible, Tsunade would say those words to her? Despite the unusual circumstances which they had been said under, and a different meaning behind them than what Sakura had originally imagined, she couldn't help that she felt overly ecstatic. Her heart swelled and she could feel tears of joy form in the corner of her eyes. "Work... for you?" She repeated, awe-struck. She beamed, a wide smile lighting up her face, and clasped her hands together. "I'll do it!"

Tsunade chuckled under her breath, secretly pleased with her student's enthusiasm. "You do realize that you can't attend classes, any longer, right, Sakura? I'll need you to drop out of all of your courses. It really is a pity, though, to waste such talent... If you are determined to pursue your studies in medicine, I suppose I might be able to train you privately."

With each passing moment, her nightmare was morphing into something more like her fondest dream come true. She had never thought that the possibility of receiving private tutoring from Tsunade could become anything more than a fantasy – and a fantasy it had been, one that she entertained in her mind frequently and without shame, no matter how ridiculous the scenarios she imagined in her head became – and ridiculous they usually were. Her favorites involved her receiving the Nobel Prize for making exponential advancements in the science of biology, (she had her speech memorized: "First of all, I would like to thank my Professor and friend, Tsunade, without whom none of this would have been made possible...) and the two of them happening to come across a person in dire need of medical attention, proceeding then to perform open-heart surgery in the middle of a cross-walk with only the tools from a near-by construction site and the backpack of a passing student.

These day-dreams were replaying themselves in her head as Tsunade uttered the words which had been nothing more than an on-the-spot idea, a mere possibility that she hadn't taken much time to consider, that sent Sakura into a state of euphoria, the likes of which she had never experienced before. The young, befuddled girl could do little else besides nod her head dumbly in response, her mouth frozen into a permanent grin, her eyes aglow with ambition.

Tsunade's ears turned red from the flattery as she assessed Sakura's reaction, and she cleared her throat as means to brush off her humble embarrassment. "Well, then." She breathed, looking to Ibiki, who had a brow quirked in amusement. "I will assign someone to you who will give you a briefing of the nature of our work and what will be expected of you, and show you the ropes and whatnot." Sakura could have sworn she saw a hint of mischief in Tsunade's smile, and wondered what schemes were unfolding inside the woman's head. Sakura had long past forsaken the idea that Tsunade was always a reasonable, sensible person, ever since she had started classes under her guidance. She knew that the retired doctor always had a trick or two up her sleeve. "And I think I know just the person for the job. Follow me."

Sakura did as instructed without a moments hesitation, as did the scarred man, and they both trailed after Tsunade as she walked briskly from the interrogation room. Sakura surveyed her surroundings with the utmost attentiveness, trying to absorb as much as she could as they walked, looking for anything that would hint towards and explanation for the many questions she had that were still left unanswered. They were walking down a long hallway, dimly lit by circular lamps hanging closely off the ceiling, the light bulbs in which flickered eerily and routinely. There were a few other doors and hallways that branched off from the one they traveled down, each equally dark and quiet, and for the most part, the place seemed deserted for the exception of the occasional person who passed them in the hallways, whose eyes would follow Sakura as she walked by them. She was not surprised by the interest they took in her. She had a suspicion that around there, they weren't much used to seeing new faces.

Eventually Tsunade led them into a larger, brighter room at the end of the hallway. It appeared to be a cafeteria or lounge of sorts, and there were a few vending machines set up on a far wall next to a refrigerator of impressive size and circular tables lined with inexpensive-looking chairs scattered about the room. Seated at one of the tables were two familiar men, one of whom stood up immediately upon their entrance and stared at them with his mouth hanging open, eyes wide. Sakura recognized her neighbor instantly. His was one of the faces that she would never be able to forget, and not just because it was drop-dead gorgeous. "What's going on?" He asked, his tone indeterminable. "Tsunade?"

Sakura found his referring to Tsunade without any formalities irksome, and would have objected, if she had not been interrupted first. "You have the fortune of being neighbors with someone that I am previously acquaintance with, Sasuke. Otherwise, this would have turned out to be a lot more of a mess." Tsunade replied, folding her arms across her voluminous chest, and giving him the same scolding look that Sakura had received when she had arrived late to class that one time. Sasuke looked bewildered, and then confused, "Sakura is – _was –_ one of my students in the classes I teach at the University." And then he looked enormously relieved.

This relief of his, as Sakura was soon to discover, would not last long.

Tsunade put a hand, gently, but firmly, to Sakura's back, and gave her a good shove. Sakura stumbled forwards, nearly bumping into the table that her gun-wielding neighbor and his gun-wielding friend were positioned at, and let out a hushed gasp. "She's your problem now, Sasuke." Tsunade concluded with a wry smirk.

The meaning of these words seemed to render simultaneously into the minds of both Sakura and the man standing across the table from her, and they wore the same expressions of horror, and paled to the same shade of off-white, as they came to the same realization. Ibiki, who still stood behind Tsunade, chuckled under his breath. The whiskered face of the dense blond, however, remained frozen in a look of lacking understanding. Sakura was beginning to think that Naruto, as kind as he was in comparison to her callous neighbor, was an idiot. "Whaaa?" He blinked.

"You can't mean--" Her neighbor started, but he couldn't even seem to manage to force out words which he already suspected were true. He clenched locks of ebony hair in his hands, hung his head, and let out a barely audible groan.

"I mean exactly what you think I mean. This was your mistake, Sasuke, and it is your responsibility to correct it. From now on, She's your charge. I'm rather attached to her, so take good care of her and teach her well, or else you'll have me to deal with." Tsunade finished.

As Naruto had finally come to share in the understanding of the circumstances, it seemed, he joined Sakura and her neighbor in arguing them. The three of them said, in unison (except for Naruto, who replaced "he" with "I",) "Why can't _he/I_ do it?" And then the exchanged startled glances. Sakura, on the one hand, felt complimented by Naruto's eagerness to take her into his care, and on the other hand, was insulted by her neighbor's obvious reluctance to have anything to do with her. She took turns alternating between smiling thankfully at the former and glaring at the latter.

Tsunade was not long impressed by their unity. Her face, much too young-looking for that of a woman well over her fifties, contorted into a warning look that none of them dare challenge. "Do not question my authority. Any more arguments on the matter and you will suffer consequences. Sasuke, you will show Sakura the same guidance and support you were shown as someone else's charge. I trust you have not forgotten how much you owe that someone. Sakura, he may be a bit difficult at times, but you will respect and obey Sasuke. He is your superior. And Naruto – try not to be such an idiot, if such a thing is possible for you."

All three of the addressed opened their mouths in silent retorts, none of them actually spoke.

--

Alright, so to start, I'd like to thank readers for the enormous amount of feedback I'm getting on this story. It makes me ecstatic, to say the least. It's probably one of the main driving points for this story right now, so please, keep up the reviews. I'm not to proud to beg. Well, sometimes I am. Depends on the situation.

So we all know that I am not the most reliable updater. I occasionally disappear for a couple months. Sometimes, I delete my account and scrap all my stories and return a couple months later with a new account and new stories for you to enjoy. Sometimes I'll update a couple days in a row. That's just how I roll. So keep interested in my stuff, there's always a good chance that I'll take it back up one day.

Please forgive any mistakes, because I usually make them, and I'm too lazy to pick over every word of what I've written to fix things that some of you wont even catch. Most of the time I'm sure you know what I mean, anyway.

I'm off for exam break right now, and I've kind of had some more inspiration burned into me for this one, so who knows, maybe I'll squeeze another chapter out this upcoming week. Thanks again for all your support. Please leave a review! ... -points gun at you through the internet- or else... ANGRY RABID FLAMIGOS WILL ATTACK YOU. D : (I swear it'll happen. Even if birds don't actually carry rabies.)


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